


Companions React to the Sole Survivor Being a Werewolf

by tea_petty



Series: Collection of Companions' Reactions [18]
Category: Fallout 4
Genre: Companions, Companions React, Gen, Werewolves
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-12
Updated: 2018-12-12
Packaged: 2019-09-17 05:27:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 16,382
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16968510
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tea_petty/pseuds/tea_petty
Summary: It's a dog's life.





	Companions React to the Sole Survivor Being a Werewolf

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted to my Tumblr; tea-petty

**Ada:** The glow of orange lantern light suddenly extinguished, at the window of a small, dilapidated home, nestled in the Sanctuary cul-de-sac.  Sole stooped on the linoleum below the front window and tried to keep themself from trembling.  The tattered, makeshift curtains were pulled as closed as they could be, but still Sole found themself peeking up through the small gap between the two halves of fabric.  Their eyes, much better suited to seeing in the dark, detected no movement outside.   _Of course, usually I’m the one doing the hunting_ , Sole thought to themself bleakly.

“I’ve finished all necessary preparations.”

Sole didn’t look back as Ada’s deliberate foot falls sounded from down the hallway.

“Thank you, Ada.”

“But really, you should leave while it is still quiet.”

Sole worried at their bottom lip as their gut pricked agitatedly.

“I know, I’ll be taking my leave soon.  It’s just…”

Ada lingered around the entrance of the hallway, not wanting to pass in front of the covered windows and shut door, and risk even the slightest chance of alerting the people of Sanctuary anyone was home.

“…No one’s showed up at my door yet…maybe…maybe I don’t have to leave after all?” Sole looked at Ada with a glimmer of hope.  Their face was grim, but the way their eyes shined eluded to the unspoken fear eating at Sole.

“I’m sorry— I find those odds, quite low.  Especially given the nature of your previous transformation.”

Sole winced at the memory.“Yeah, I suppose you’re right.”

Ada disappeared down the hallway again, the drone of her foot falls punctuating the reeling anxiety in Sole’s mind.  In the distance, Sole heard the door slam shut, and their heart seemed to trip over it’s beat.  Sole’s palms grew clammy, as a cold sweat broke out across their skin.  Ada returned and dropped a rucksack with a few days’ worth of food and water, as well as some changes of clothing, next to the entrance of the home’s main hall.

“This should certainly be enough to get you to Goodneighbor.”

Sole could barely focus with such persistent pounding in their ears; their heartbeat refusing to be ignored, as if saying ‘ _Enjoy it while it lasts!_ ’.

“Thank you, Ada. You’ve been good to me.”  Sole’s voice was tight.

Sole crept lowly on all fours, to the rucksack.  From through the window, Sole could see orange and yellow light dancing, although they could not identify the sources.  An image of torches and pitchforks flashed through Sole’s mind, as they scooped the rucksack up, slipping their arms through the straps.

“I wish you a safe journey. My logic gates have determined we’ve picked optimal conditions for such an endeavor.  The probability of you reaching Goodneighbor safely is moderate to high.”

Sole tried to swallow the lump in their throat.  A smattering of voices sounded from outside; not close – yet.

“And the chances of me seeing you again?”

“High.  I will come find you as soon as I am able.”

Sole wished this made them feel better. “Okay.”

Sole inched towards the back door, throwing a final glance Ada’s way. “Thank you again.”

“You should go now.”

“ _Find me_.”

“I will, I promise.”

And then Sole disappeared out the back door, and into the shrouded security of the Commonwealth brush.  Ada sat in the dark silence for a few moments.  She knew the house was empty, but she didn’t expect to feel that way too.  It was then that it occurred to her that she had never been alone until now; Jackson had created her, Sole had rescued her when he’d died in the attack, and she’d been with them ever since.  Now it was time for her to save Sole.  Ada accessed her long-term memory, needing a glimpse of something Sole had insisted she remember, specifically for this occasion.

“ _It’s not goodbye Ada, it’s a ‘see you later’._ ”

“I’ll see you later,”  Ada said into the empty house.

The house stared numbly back.  Then, there was a sharp rap at the door.

**Cait** :  Cait’s eyes flew open as a scream of terror rang out through the still Sanctuary night.  Cait jackknifed to a sitting position, her heart hammering.  Shards of moonlight refracted through the window next to her bed, the cold rays of light gleaned from the sheen of clammy sweat coating her alabaster skin.  Another scream followed by a harsh, commanding voice sounded muffled from outside.

Cait tossed a few red locks from her face, before she grabbed the baseball bat leaning against her nightstand, long, rusty penny nails stuck menacingly across the business end.  Cait sprinted outside but skidded to a stop when she found herself amongst the throngs of settlers, as a bubble of space opened up in the middle.  At the center, someone heartbreakingly familiar.

A trail of blood led into the circle from the bridge at the entrance of Sanctuary..  At the other end, Sole – or something resembling Sole — dragged their crumpled form by their front…limbs.  What should have been arms, were contorted – be it the creature’s strange anatomy, or the severity of its injuries that stretched the skin so tight over fractured bones , that it whitened.  The muscles flexed so harshly, that Cait thought it might break the creatures bones.

This Sole – resembling thing whimpered, with each painstaking drag, their legs splayed out uselessly behind them.  It looked like it could’ve been Sole, a horribly broken Sole, save for the scruffy hound-like ears protruding from their mussed hair, caked in dirt and blood, and the tail that splintered from their tattered trousers.  Its breathing was labored, and Cait watched it drag themself a short distance, before it slumped down to the ground.  The circle of onlookers shifted to further accommodate the transition, ensuring at least a two-meter radius between  _it_ , and  _them_.

Its cheek was pressed against the torn asphalt of the tattered Sanctuary main street.  Cait froze, her blood circulating like  ice water through her, as she met the creature’s fatigued gaze.  Those eyes. How many times had Cait looked into those eyes?  She had seen them glitter with happiness, and hurl daggers with anger.  She had seen them sharpen with wit and soften with compassion.  She used to drown in those eyes; let herself get lost in them. If eyes were the windows to the soul, then Cait had gazed through these eyes almost every day for the months leading up to Sole’s disappearance.

And now?  This strange, animalistic Sole-look-alike had come, and Cait’s heart twinged, raw in her chest.

“C-Cait…”  it whimpered, to Cait’s horror.

That  _voice_.  Gravelier than Cait had recalled, but unmistakably Sole’s.

“It can speak!”  a voice among the crowd exclaimed fearfully.

“What sort of devilry is  _that_?”  Another one spat.

Cait hardened her face.“An’ how do the likes of ye, know me name?”

Monster-Sole took a few labored breaths, summoning the strength to answer the best they could.

“Cait…it’s me…”

“I don’t know ye.”  Cait glowered at them.

“You do…it’s me…Sole…”

Hot, angry tears budded at the corners of Cait’s eyes.  She roughly shoved her wrist against her eyes, banishing the hateful wetness.“Sole’s  _dead!_ ”

“I-I’m not…yet…” they breathed, the corner of its mouth twitching slightly.

The inappropriate attempt at something resembling humor was such a Sole move, that Cait had to physically resist the urge to finish beating that thing to death.  Let the dead stay dead.

“They are. They went missin’, an’ then a group found a ton o’ blood and some human remains.   _I_  –“ Cait stabbed her thumb in her direction  “-led that search party.  I saw it for meself!”

“C-cait, please…” they whimpered, “Those weren’t…mine…it’s me…”

“Of course, they weren’t yours – they were  _Sole’s_.”  Cait growled, her eyes flashing.

More labored breathing.  The act of passing air in and out seemed so laborious at this point, Cait could see its entire body rise and fall with each arduous breath, trembling with the exertion.

“Do you remember–”  they hacked and coughed, some blood dribbling out of its mouth  “–do you remember that morning we tried…making pancakes?”

Cait’s eyes widened as her blood chilled.

“I t-told you about this pre-war food that I used to make with my family, p-pancakes.  And then we tried to make them…”  The voice trailed off, struggling to force the words out.

Cait’s entire expression contorted, as if the delicate face muscles just couldn’t bear the intensity of such emotion; a combination of grief and relief.

“…and then we burned ‘em to a crisp, an’ the entire kitchen got all smoky, an’ we tried to eat them anyways…”  Cait’s voice was ragged.

“…but they…still tasted…like crap.”  Sole  managed a brief smile, their words punctuated with each desperate attempt for air.

A sob tore through Cait before she clamped a hand over her mouth, and fell to her knees.

“ _My God,_ it is ye!”

Cait rushed to Sole’s side, and tentatively rested a hand along their back.  The thin material of their shirt was caked in dirt, and stiff from the combination of muck, sweat, and blood.  Despite the way Sole’s breathing forced their whole body into the effort, they felt so fragile in such noticeable movements, that Cait was surprised they were still alive at all.

“Sole…” Cait whimpered, before gently wrapping her arms around Sole’s head, to cradle it the best she could.

Sole’s strange new ears tickled the spot where her elbow.

“Cait.” Sole managed a smile. “God, you really are a sight for sore eyes.”

A tight laugh escaped Cait’s lips. “So are ye. I never thought I’d get to look at ye again.”

“And that’s the real crime.”

Cait’s shoulders shook as another laugh-sob escaped her.  Sole could only gaze up at her, looking more at peace than they had all night.

“W-What happened?”  Cait gently stroked her finger across Sole’s cheek.  “You were gone for months, and now…what happened to you?”

Sole swallowed. “Attacked by…I don’t even know what…and then I woke up…bloody and injured and…ready to die.”

Sole’s chest rose and fall more violently as panic eased its way in at the grisly recollection. “Now…I sometimes get these…”

Cait’s eyebrows furrowed. “These?” Her hands gently stroked the furry ears.

“And the…tail…but not…all the time.  Tonight I was…ambushed…by a deathclaw, and…I don’t think I have the energy to…hide them…”

“Is this why ye were gone so long?  Ye didn’t even think ta come back an’ let me know ye were alive?”  Cait demanded.

“How could I?”  Sole retorted feebly, “To come back…like this?  Me…but…not me…not the same?”

“Ye think I would’ve stopped loving ye?”  Cait’s voice wobbled.

“I think…I wanted to give you an out…”

“We lost months together!  I could’ve helped ye!”  A few tears dripped from Cait’s eyes, and pooled on Sole’s cheek, mingling with the blood.

“I know…I was…stupid…”

“Are.  You are stupid.”

“Sure…am…”  Sole could manage another weak smile, before a phantom of it was eternally emblazoned across their face.

Cait felt them visibly relax; the finality of the faint heaving motion not at all lost to her.  She threw her head back as another violent sob tore from her.

**Codsworth** :  Sole took a deep breath and took their first step back into Sanctuary since becoming a werewolf.  Nervously, they glanced back at the sun’s position in the sky: low, but not dipping below the horizon yet.  There was a full moon tonight; and Sole wanted to be settled back at home, before their transformation took place.  First, they’d find Codsworth since he’d certainly know what to do.  Sole adjusted the strap of their rucksack and headed for home.    
Sole traced the familiar main street running through Sanctuary to the end house nestled in the middle of the cul-de-sac.  It had been months since they’d been here; but save for the fact that it was appeared quite a bit bigger, it was exactly the same.  Sole passed by Sturges, fixing the same old junk that broke down. They saw the Longs, still tending to the food – albeit looking less melancholy than the last time Sole had seen them.  They spotted Preston, speaking with a settler Sole either could not remember or had never seen before, a focused look on his face.

Wordlessly, Sole continued on – if they managed to get through tonight’s transformation unscathed, they would reunite with their old dear friends then.  For now though, Sole felt better knowing whether or not they could in fact, return to Sanctuary for good.  Out of habit, Sole rapped sharply on the familiar worn door of their pre-wolf house, before opening the door and stepping in anyways.

  
“Yes?  Who’s there?”  

  
Sole’s heart twinged at the familiar whirring noise – last time they’d reunited with Codsworth, it hadn’t felt quite as overdue, but Sole hadn’t been frozen this time around.  The months that had passed felt like an eternity.

  
“By God – is it really you?”  Codsworth hovered in place a few feet away from Sole.

  
Sole smiled sheepishly. “Hey Codsworth, I’m home.”

  
Codsworth whirred in front of Sole and appeared to give them a good once over.“I knew it!” Codsworth said and began to pace. “I told everyone you’d be back – you always come back after all.  They all tried to tell me you were dead, but I told them you were just…er…indisposed?”  Codsworth lurched to a stop.“What ever happened to you anyways?”

  
Sole sighed. “It’s…a long story.  We definitely have some…catching up to do.”  
“I should think so! Do the others know?  I would’ve expected they’d be barging right on in – and who could blame them?  We were all so terribly worried about you.”

  
Sole hesitated. “They don’t…know I’m back yet.”

  
“What are you waiting for?”  

  
The genuine curiosity in Codsworth voice twisted Sole’s gut – would he be okay with who they were now?

  
“It’s part of the stuff I need to catch you up on, if all goes well, I was going to try and reunite with everyone tomorrow.”

  
“’If all goes well’?  Are you alright?” Codsworth studied the dark purple shadows that underscored Sole’s eyes, and their gaunt pallor.  “You do look quite the worse for wear - absolutely exhausted.  Maybe you need a snack too?”

  
Concern edged his voice, and it only added to the guilt that gnawed at Sole.

  
“I…listen Codsworth…”  Sole found themselves looking worriedly out the window again. The sun had begun its unrelenting descent; a waning crescent of light over the horizon.“Something…happened to me while I was out there, the day I went missing.”

  
“Well, yes, I figured as much.  It’s not like you to just disappear without good reason.”

  
Sole nodded deliberately. “Well, that day I left, I was supposed to respond to this settlement quite far away – I followed the signal, trying to take any shortcut I could; it was an urgent matter after all, and I ended up in the woods.  Then…”  
“Wait.”

  
Sole looked up at Codsworth.

  
“You’ve obviously been through a trauma – let me whip up a quick snack and a spot of coffee for you, and you can tell me all about it,”  Codsworth said decidedly.

  
Sole hesitated, the ominous way the sun dipped lower in the sky putting them on edge.

  
“Okay,” Sole agreed.  
  
Fifteen minutes later, Sole sat at the kitchen table; spotless even after surviving a nuclear war plus an additional six months of neglect. Courtesy of Codsworth, no doubt.  A steaming mug of coffee sat before Sole, along with a box of Fancy Lad’s Snack Cakes.

  
“Now then, go on, you were tracking a settlement, ended up in the woods and…?” Codsworth took up a spot across the table.  Sole studied the steam as it unfurled from the cup of coffee.

“I got lost,” Sole admitted. “I lost the signal too. It just died and no matter what I did I couldn’t find it. Or my way out.”

Sole wrapped their hands around the warm mug and pulled the drink closer, careful not to spill.

“I wandered around aimlessly for a few days, I think. Then one night – it was just too much. I was starving and so thirsty that I just gave up. I just hoped it would be over quick.”

Sole shuddered at the grim recollection and tried to ground themself by focusing on the drink in their hands.

  
Codsworth made a sympathetic noise.

  
“Then, hours later, I regained consciousness – still hungry, and wet and cold, but I heard this…snarling.  And snapping noises.  Wild animals – I’d thought they might be mutant hounds or something but…” 

An eerie calm seemed to steel Sole, and they wrapped their hands around the mug, letting the warmth leech into their calloused palm.“They were wolves.  You know, like the ones before the war?  Just like them, except, I don’t know…smarter?”

  
“Smart…wolves?  How did you know they were smart?”  Codsworth sounded dumbfounded.

  
“I…it’s hard to explain.  But it was when I looked at them; they were wolves, but in their eyes they seemed…human almost.  Like they looked at me and understood that I was in trouble.”

  
Codsworth said nothing.

  
“Anyways, these…strange wolves kept growling and snapping, and I just pinched my eyes shut, praying that they would kill me quickly, and then suddenly, one of them bit me.  I thought he was going to tear my throat out.”  
“Wait – I’m sorry, ‘he’?”

  
“I’ll get to that.  One of the wolves – the alpha – bit me, right here.” Sole tugged at the collar of their shirt, revealing a few short puncture marks that disappeared  beneath the fabric. “And I was so sure he was going to kill me – I could feel my blood flowing, and hear him lick and chew at my flesh, and then…”

  
Sole stared at the coffee mug like it was a crystal ball offering a simple explanation.

  
“And then I blacked out, and a few days later I woke up surrounded by the people who had bitten me in the first place, and my wounds were pretty much healed.”

  
“People?  You said you were attacked by wolves.”

  
“That’s my point,” Sole said, “they were wolves, and then…they weren’t.”

  
Sole took a deep sip of their coffee.

  
“It sounds…like you’re describing…” 

  
“Werewolves.”  Sole finished. “I know, it sounds crazy.  That’s what I thought too, but then, the first full moon hit.  That was about two weeks after they had found me in the woods, and after Andre – the one who bit me, and the alpha of the pack – had…changed me.”

  
“You can’t be serious?”  

  
“The first full moon, Andre warned me about what was to happen. I thought he was totally full of it.  I kept thinking that a bunch of crazies had decided to take me in.  But then, night fell, and…”  Sole raised a hand to absently rub at the top of their head. “The pain.  I could see everything – smell everything, I grew better ears—” Sole winced “—which hurts a lot.  But even that was nothing to the tail.  My entire spine shifts and stretches.  Tails are responsible for balance and sensory stuff you know?  So all the nerves that are connected to that, through my spine?  It’s like it’s taking every sensation and ripping it from me.”

  
Sole swallowed. “It’s not just cosmetic though…these heightened senses, and physical optimization?  They’re all so that I can…hunt more effectively.”

  
“Hunt?”  Codsworth squeaked.  
“When I transform, I…lose a piece of myself.  I lose everything that makes me a person.  It’s why I came back, and it’s why I need your help.”  Sole turned to face Codsworth again, their eyes burning.

  
“I need you to help keep me restrained during the transformation.  I need you to make sure I don’t hurt anyone else.”

  
“That’s why you came back?”  Codsworth asked quietly.’

  
Sole nodded. “This way, I have someone I trust – someone I trust that I won’t be inclined to…eat, to ensure that I don’t hurt anyone else.”

  
“Then you can also lead a somewhat normal life!”  Codsworth chirped.

  
Sole relinquished a small smile. “Yeah, maybe that too.”

  
“Of course, I’ll help you – just say the word.”

  
Sole took a deep breath, looking out the window again; the sun was almost completely below the horizon now, the sky taking on violet pink hues, in preparation for the satiny, blackness of night ahead.

  
“Excellent, first we’ll need rope, wire, handcuffs, leather straps – whatever you can use to bind me…”

  
“Right!”

  
Dutifully, Codsworth whizzed about, expertly scrounging up whatever Sole had called out.  Darker and darker hues bled into the sky, staining it.  In the distance, a wolf cried, and Sole’s stomach heaved.  It was going to be a long night.

**Curie** :  It was silent, which wasn’t so unusual this late on a Commonwealth night.  Curie sat at her desk, hunched over a report on the medical properties of different flora she had found around the Commonwealth.  It had been an extensive project, and it was a relief to be wrapping it up. Moreover though, it would be a relief to see the good that came of her extensive research.  A sudden clatter sounded from behind Curie, and she whipped around.

“What eez zhis?”  She gasped.

Longfellow and Danse stood in the doorway carrying something—or rather  _someone—_ bound.  Curie’s stomach churned when she spotted the familiar wedding band dangling from a chain around the hanging form’s neck.

“What in zhe world?  Tell me what eez going on,”  She demanded, in an uncharacteristic streak of anger.

“We found ‘em out by Goodneighbor.  We think they were tryin’ to…run away…”

“You didn’t.”  Curie glared at them.

“No! No o’ course not.  This is…it’s…I’m sure our cap’n is still in there somewhere.”  Longfellow’s eyebrows furrowed as he glanced down at Sole, who dangled submissively in the two men’s grip.  Longfellow by the arms, and shoulders, Danse by the legs.

“And we wanted you to make sure before we…”

Curie sighed.  “Alright, lay zhem on zhe examination table.”

Cooperatively, Longfellow and Danse gently placed Sole’s form on the ‘examination table’ – which was really just an island in the middle of what used to be a kitchen in the pre-war house.  Curie started; in light of Sole’s lack of resistance through what Curie had witnessed of the ordeal so far, she had figured they were unconscious, but as the two men lay them on the table, Curie saw a lock of hair shift to reveal on sad, open eye, staring dismally at her.  Curie felt that terrible squeezing sensation in her chest.

“Ah, Sole,  _cherie,_ we ‘ave found you, and now we want to see what…’as ‘appened to you, yes?”

Sole nodded mutely and upon further inspection, Curie found that there was a binding in Sole’s mouth.

“Eez zhat really necessary?”  Curie asked sharply.

Danse stared at his feet.

“Aye,” Longfellow confirmed gruffly, “the Sole we know an’…love, might not be there anymore.  This one’s sick with…lycanthropy if I’m right.  Makes ‘em bloodthirsty in their current form, an’ it infects anyone they bite – if it doesn’t kill them in the process.”

Curie frowned, still not happy, but not pushing it anymore.“So you already know of zhis…illness?”  Curie asked, beginning a standard exam of Sole.

She placed a hand to palpate Sole’s abdomen, only to watch them writhe suddenly against their bindings with a force that almost sent them toppling over the edge.  Curie and Longfellow leapt forward to steady Sole hurriedly.

“Read about it a bit.  Never saw it myself until tonight.  My papa used to tell me stories though – those infected terrorizing the village he came from, before moving to Far Harbor.”

“Did ‘e know of a cure?”  Curie asked gently, trying to keep Sole docile enough to properly examine them.

Their skin was hot to the touch, and their heart rate was accelerated, but Curie couldn’t tell if that was the lycanthropy or the stress of the night’s events.

“Perhaps,” Longfellow grunted.  “More of a ‘Hail Mary’ than a right cure though.”

Silence made its home in the crackling tension that settled in, as Curie continued to examine Sole, as Longfellow and Danse awaited a verdict.  From her front pocket, Curie procured a small pen light.  She leaned in to shine the light into Sole’s eyes.

“Watch my fingers, please.”She moved her fingers and watched as Sole’s bleary gaze followed them.

“Sole?”  Curie asked coaxingly.“Sole, do you know who you are?”

Everyone watched with bated breath, as Sole nodded deliberately.

“Good!  Do you know who I am?”

Sole’s eyes watered, and a tear rolled down their cheek, as a sob strained against the binding at their mouth.

“Hm.” Curie made a conclusive noise before turning back to Longfellow and Danse.

“I sink the Sole we know is definitely still in zhere, so…tell me about zhis cure.”

“Well, my papa told me about it,” Longfellow began, “he talked about a boy in his village, who was bitten by a…werewolf, and who after laboring over a fever that should’ve killed him, for two weeks, turned into a sort of wolf during the next full moon.”

Danse and Curie watched him with rapt attention.

“The rest o’ the village wanted to put ‘im down, but his ma and pa wouldn’t have it.  It was their boy, ye see?  So, they went scrounging around everywhere for a cure; started lookin’ at the local medicines, but couldn’t find anything, so they broadened their search to nearby villages.  Eventually, word had spread all across the island, about these poor fools in search for a cure!  Months went by, with their boy locked up in the ‘ol cellar, and near everyone had given up…even his ol’ man.  But then, one day a traveling salesman came to the village.  He said he vended all sorts of magical cures for all sorts o’ magical maladies – lycanthropy included.”

“What was eet?  Zhe cure?”

“A vial, full of extracted Wolf’s bane,” Longfellow grimaced.“I don’t know where we’d find the stuff though.”

Curie fell silent again, thoughtful.  A few moments later something unplaceable flitted across her face, before she sprang into action, beelining towards the file cabinets beside her desk.  The very ones full of records on the research she had just finished up.  Stooping down, she pulled open the third drawer, fingers sifting lithely through the ‘W’ section.

She sighed, disappointed. “Wolf’s bane…”  she said. She couldn’t place it exactly, but she knew she had heard of it before.

“’Think it went by another name too,” Longfellow grunted, “but I can’t seem to remember what it was.  Started with an ‘a’ I think.”

Recognition hit Curie suddenly.“Ah!  Wolfsbane, also known as  _aconitum_!”

Curie pulled open the first drawer and passed by one file in the ‘A’ section before pulling out a file envelope bursting with paper.

“Eet goes by so many names zhat I ended up collecting a lot about zhis one on accident!”Curie flipped open a file, only to see a small drawstring back laying neatly at the front.“And here; my samples.”

Curie turned to the two men, still lingering near the front of the clinic.“Do me a favor, grab zhe bowl and grinder from zhat shelf over zhere.”  

Danse reached for the items and brought them before Curie.   The scientist shook the open bag above the bowl, until several plush, purple flowers tumbled out into the bowl.  Satisfied, she palmed the grinder and got to work, crushing the fleshy tubules and bulbous petals until they created a sort of poultice.

“Eez zhis…sufficient?”  She turned to look at Longfellow, uncertain.

“I…maybe.  I wouldn’t know,”  Longfellow admitted.

Curie sighed and looked down at the mixture.

“What ‘appens if we get it wrong?  What ‘appened to zhe boy your…papa told you about?”

Longfellow hesitated. “He…died.”

Curie worried at her lip.

“But it’s the only lead we have, and if we leave them like this…”

“Well, we can’t.” Danse looked at Curie somberly. “So you need to make a judgment call.”

Curie looked down at Sole troubledly.  A low growl rumbled in their throat, and then they writhed against their constraints again.  It reminded Curie a bit of the ferals she had seen.

“Sole deserves a fighting chance,”  Curie said decidedly, before grabbing the poultice and moving towards Sole.

Danse and Longfellow stepped in to further restrain Sole, who seized and jerked beneath them, savage snarls and growls ripping from their throat.

“Ssh,” Curie said soothingly, “zhis…zhis will all be over before you know eet.”

She offered Sole a weak smile, trying to be comforting.  Longfellow used his elbows to pin Sole’s shoulders before using his strong hands to press at Sole’s jaw, keeping it propped open for Curie.  Curie forced herself not to flinch at the excessive force, before tilting the bowl above Sole’s mouth, and shaking the mixture in.

Sole continued to fight against it, attempting to cough it up, or spit it out, as a combination of spit and poultice dribbled out of their mouth.

“Hey!”  Longfellow barked at them, before using the hands on their jaw, to clamp it shut; the only way out now, was down.

Sole heaved and sputtered as they were forced to swallow the mixture, their growls fading to a low keening noise, and eventually a fatigued whimper as they slumped down.  After a few moments of Sole being still, Longfellow and Danse carefully lifted their weight from them – still no response.  Sole shifted slightly from their movements, and Curie began to notice the tufts of fur clumping from the strange new ears and tail Sole donned.

“I…sink eet’s working?”

An hour later, the ears and tail were long gone, the only evidence remaining of Sole’s lycanthropy were the clumps of fur that now littered the main area of the clinic – and the fact that they still wouldn’t wake up.

Danse sighed and ran a tired hand over his face, as Longfellow shook his head sadly.“Curie…”

Curie sat, her eyes trained on Sole’s unmoving form.

“No.  Zhis cured them.  I ‘ave to believe it.  I will wait for Sole to wake up.”

Longfellow came over to gently lay a hand on her shoulder.“You should…get some rest.  We don’t know…when Sole will wake up.”

_Or if they will._

Curie’s stomach felt like it was wrung up and tied in knots.

“No,” she choked out, “ _I will stay right here!_ ”

And that’s what she did, long after Longfellow and Danse had retreated for the night, until they found her and Sole, still there the next morning.

**Danse** :  Danse raised his arms up, in an ‘ _easy_ ’ motion.  Sole’s eyes glinted like knives, the snarl on their face making them near unrecognizable.  They still looked more human than wolf – to an extent – physically, the only strictly wolf features were furry ears protruding from atop their head, and a bushy tail hanging low behind them.  Sole’s fingers and toes buried into the ground, tearing at clumps of dirt.

“C’mon Sole, you don’t want to hurt her,” Danse coaxed.

A low rumbled from Sole’s throat again, as their gaze trained hungrily on the settler they were backing into a corner.  The settler whimpered, falling shakily to her knees, placing a hand on her bloated stomach.

“She’s pregnant – she’s going to be a parent.  Remember what that was like? Seeing your baby for the first time?”

Sole growled again, it caught in their throat.  Sole’s gaze flicked back to Danse, before they took another clambering step towards their hostage.  The scent of blood and fear mingled intoxicatingly at Sole’s nose.  

“Hey, Sole, look at me.  Remember me, soldier?  You saved me the first time we met; from all those ferals, back when I was still in the Brotherhood.”

Danse took another deliberate step towards Sole, arms still raised.  Sole froze midstep, ears pricking slightly.  Meanwhile, a throng of settlers had gathered around the scene.  If Sole were human state, they would have noticed Preston in the background with his brows furrowed as he stared down the barrel of his laser musket at Sole’s head.

“Yeah, remember?  You just came in and did all that good on your own.  Haylen had been calling for help for days, but nobody had come to help – until you did.”

A keening noise left Sole, trailing off into another growl, but they did not move any closer to the now sobbing settler.

“I still remember it like it was yesterday—seeing you handle yourself like that.  You couldn’t tell I was impressed though.I still called you a ‘civilian’, and put you through your paces to make you prove you were serious about the Brotherhood…and about me.”

Danse had taken a few more steps so he graduated past Sole’s peripheral vision, edging his way into Sole’s line of sight.

“And then when you were finally promoted to Knight, and we started traveling together.”

Sole snarled as Danse shifted so that he was between Sole and hostage.  Danse froze, before waving his hand behind him –  _Don’t shoot._   Preston begrudgingly lowered his gun.

“Ssh, c’mon, you remember, I know you do.  You always told me that, that was when you fell for me, but you had no idea that I had already fallen for you that day you helped us with the ghouls.”

Another growl rumbled in Sole’s throat, and their ears flattened against their head.

“I know, you don’t believe me.  But it’s true – I may not have realized it at the time, I was…oblivious back then,” Danse chuckled, “But I did. I was so taken with you.  Your fortitude and strength – they were radiant.”

Sole snapped at him.

“I knew I was enamored with you then.  But when I knew I loved you?  That was after Arthur banished me – when I found out I was a synth.”  Danse smiled at Sole.

Sole whimpered before growling harshly again.  Meanwhile, the settler Sole had trapped earlier was slowly inching away.  Sole looked around Danse to snap at her too, stopping her in her tracks.

“Hey, Sole, over here.  You…saved me.  Not just with the ferals, but after…after the Brotherhood left me.  You were there when I thought I was a monster, remember?  But now you think you are one – and you’re not, and so I’ll save you back now.  You’re not a monster, and I’ll prove it – because I know you won’t hurt this woman or her child.”

Danse took a step closer to Sole, and Sole whimpered, dropping lower to the ground.  Sole’s human heart twinged, but their wolf brain couldn’t discern this strange, unpleasant squeezing their chest.  Sole bellowed in pain.

“Hey, whoa there, you’re alright.  Do you remember?  You promised you’d marry me – or you promised you’d promise me, I have to meet Shaun first though, right?”

Sole keened.

“Hey, it’s alright, we can work out the details later.  I’m sure he’s a great kid – I mean, if he has any part of you, he’s got to be.”

Sole moaned, Sole moaned, sounding more like a human in pain than a monster.

Danse smiled gently. “That’s right, it’ll be okay.”

A sob shook Sole.

Danse turned to the woman still shaking, huddled against the wall.  He waved her on –  _Go now!_   The woman let out a last ragged sob, before she clambered to her feet, and stumbled away.  Danse kept his head turned, watching the woman as she returned to the safety of the crowd.  Sole’s wolf-eyes noticed this, and their hunter’s instinct had them creeping back into a predatory hunch, before their legs launched them straight towards Danse jugular.  Danse fell backwards as Sole lunged for him, he braced his hands against their shoulders, holding them at arm’s length, but his fingers clamped around their shoulders, not letting them go either.

“Sole,”  Danse commanded, “it’s me.  Let’s not fight.”

Sole whimpered again, keening, and writhing in Danse’s arms.  Danse took this opportunity to roll them, flipping their positions so that he was pinning Sole to the ground now.  Sole growled and snapped, but with Danse pressing them firmly down at the neck, their attempts were futile.

“It’s okay.  You don’t know it yet, but it’ll be okay.  I was right, you didn’t hurt that woman, and you didn’t hurt me either.  Everything’s going to be fine.”

**Deacon** : “So…you don’t actually turn into a wolf?”  Deacon raised his eyebrows, clearly unimpressed.

“No, I told you. It’s the ears, tail, eyes, and…predatory instinct.”

Deacon crossed his arms, his lips pursed.  “Hm.  Okay.”

“What the hell?”  Sole demanded, “Not ‘Hollywood’ enough for you?”

Deacon shrugged. “Meh.  Wait – what’s Hollywood?”

“Never mind.”

“Anyways, I’m just saying – I’ve read  _The Man-Wolf_ , and in that, the werewolf went  _full_  wolf during the full moon.”

Sole rolled their eyes. “Well, this isn’t a book.”

“So I get the ears are ‘all the better to hear you with, my dear!’”  Deacon began, pacing.

“Sure.”

“And, the eyes are, ‘all the better to see you with, my dear!’” Deacon continued, one hand raised to his chin in a sophisticated gesture.

“Okay.”

“But…what about…the  _tail_?”  Deacon waggled his eyebrows.

Sole groaned. “All the better for balance – so I can kick your ass,  _my dear_.”

Deacon raised his arms in surrender. “Hey, no need to  _bite my head off_ , it was just a  _doggone_ joke.”

Sole made a face. “I think I wished the transformation process killed me instead now.”

Suddenly Deacon fell quiet, and the mood took on a transformation of its own.

“What was it like?”  Deacon suddenly asked quietly.  “Did it hurt?”

Sole paused, thoughtful.  “Well, I was bitten, so that part definitely hurt…”

Sole could tell, even behind his shades, his gaze was trained on them, he was paying rapt attention.

“And then the fever set in, so that was…unpleasant to say the least.  But then I lost consciousness, and when I woke up…it was done.”

“Did you feel…different afterwards?”

Sole’s mouth quirked up into a small smile. “Not really.  I was actually half convinced the pack that had…taken me in at the time, were a bunch of crazies.  You know, sort of like the Children of Atom.”

“But with wolves?”  Deacon suggested.

“Yeah,” Sole laughed, “but with wolves.”

Sole’s gaze went faraway, as they recalled their adjustment.

“Amelia…the one who…changed me. She was really nice.  She walked me through my first transition – which was  _painful_.  I mean, your anatomy reconfigures inside of you – you can hear the snapping and popping of your bones – it’s…pretty terrible.”

Deacon paled.

“But she was there for me the entire time.  And then, she was there on my first hunt too.  It was strange – I was pretty scared.  I mean, those who are born with this…condition, look like wolves, so when they hunt it looks natural.  But me?  I’m second gen—” Sole shot Deacon a wink “— so, I still look mostly human; but I still have to hunt like a wolf.  It’s…jarring.”

Deacon studied Sole’s expression; their expression almost content, as if they were fondly recalling such grisly memories.

“Why did she do it?”  Deacon asked quietly.

Sole laughed. “I asked her that.  She said…it was like when she looked at me, it just felt natural.  Werewolves call it ‘imprinting’.  It’s how some find mates even, but she said for me, it was like she was looking at her child.  There was just something…natural about it, like it was supposed to happen.  She couldn’t  _not_ bite me.”

“And you’re okay with that?”

Sole chuckled. “Well, I didn’t have much of a choice.  That seems to be a theme with my life in the Commonwealth.”

Deacon frowned, his eyebrows furrowed.

Sole noticed his expression. “I mean that’s okay though, isn’t it?  I didn’t expect my life to go this way at all – but…I gained a lot because of it too.  Found a new family; and even though I’ve lost a bit in the process, it’s not all bad. I have to believe that at least.”

Deacon was thoughtful for a moment; Sole’s reassurance seemingly having worked.

“Maybe I should try to dress up as a werewolf.  You think your ‘pack’ would be able to tell?”

Sole laughed. “Maybe you’d be better off going as Little Red Riding Hood.”

Deacon feigned hurt. “My, what little faith in me you have, my dear!”

**Dogmeat** :  Sole’s door was boarded up as the full moon taunted them through their window. The moon’s full rays of refracted light beaming coldly down on someone resigned to not being able to beam back.  Sole lay curled up on the worn tile of their Sanctuary home.  A sickening  _crack_  sounded from Sole’s back, as their spine contorted to accommodate the extra bone growing rapidly— their tail.  Sole whimpered before clamping a hand down over their mouth; trying desperately to hold back a scream.

Dogmeat whimpered from the corner as someone in Sole’s skin contorted and writhed in agony.  Skin split, bones snapped, and Sole lay laboring for breath on the floor, in a crumpled heap.  When they rose again, a strange, sharp scent assaulted Dogmeat’s nose. He leapt onto his paws, growling.

Sole— no, the stranger— lifted their head and Dogmeat snarled. The stranger wore Sole’s skin, but the scent was no longer human. They smelled like him, another dog, and Dogmeat did not know them.  Who were they?  Where was Sole?

“Dogmeat…”  the stranger whimpered.

Dogmeat growled, creeping forward cautiously.

“I-It’s me boy, c-c’mon.”  fake Sole raised a trembling hand, encouraging Dogmeat to sniff it.

Dogmeat snapped at it.  Hissing, Sole jerked their hand back and inspected it.  He hadn’t broken the skin.  Sole fought the surge of rage that rose in him; that was their wolf instinct.  They had to remember their human one; the one that loved Dogmeat, the one that could emphasize with him.

“Alright boy, you just need some time to adjust.  I get it., I do too.”

Dogmeat growled again, his ears flattening against his head, as he circled his spot in the corner opposite of Sole.  Sole spent the night folded up; oscillating between vicious shivering and a starving rage, born from their stubborn refusal to hunt.

Dogmeat could smell the desperation and fear mingling around this crumpled fake Sole.  Maybe he felt a little sorry.  Maybe it was because this stranger looked like Sole.

The next time Sole transformed, Dogmeat was already in position; his designated corner of distrust for when Sole would leave, and fake Sole would stay for the night.  This was strange; why did Sole have to leave at all?  They had never had to before.  Who was this fake Sole that had come to replace them? Dogmeat had so many questions.  He didn’t like fake Sole – they smelled too similarsimilarly to the real Sole (and him!), besides, fake Sole always had to get sick when they came. It was painful for Dogmeat to watch.  He settled for a low growl, and a few snaps, but left fake Sole alone for the night, ignoring their attempts to befriend him.

It wasn’t until the third time Sole had transformed, that Dogmeat connected the dots.  Sole lay on the dusty floor limp through the sickening cracking of joints popping out of place, and bones shifting beneath feverish skin.  Dogmeat could still smell fear – but the desperation was vacant.  He sat closer than usual this time; and was void of the warning growl he usually wielded against fake-Sole when they came to visit.  Dogmeat watched them, and suddenly, he couldn’t distinguish between them and the real Sole.  Same face, same eyes, same scent.  Dogmeat had seen Sole hurt and fatigued enough to recognize them in their sorry state.  But why were they on the floor?  Sole never slept on the floor -  he didn’t even sleep on the floor.  Not when they could both share Sole’s bed!  Come to think of it, Sole was only on the floor when they were fake-Sole.  Dogmeat let out a low whimper.

“Hey boy, what’s wrong?”

Sole’s voice was weak.

Dogmeat cried and pawed at the floor near Sole’s head.

“I’m here,” Sole raised their hand tentatively, waiting for Dogmeat to snap at them again.

Dogmeat shoved his head under Sole’s palm, nuzzling their wrist.  Sole let out a weak chuckle, and Dogmeat noticed the subtle flexing of strange new appendages protruding from Sole’s head.  Ears that were like his.  Dogmeat whined curiously, before turning up to stick his nose in Sole’s hand.  That’s right! They smelled like him now!

Sole slept better than they had in months that night, with Dogmeat curled comfortingly at their side, family like they’d always had been despite their newfound common ground.

**Hancock** :  Sole swallowed, a nervous bead of sweat onsliding down their temple.  From over the fireplace the ticking of the clock seemed to march on like a funeral procession.  The full moon peered menacingly in from the top corner of a window in the Old State House.

Sole flinched as Hancock spung an arm around their shoulders.  “Whoa there sunshine.,” Hancock studied the uncharacteristic way Sole seemed to balk at his touch.  “What’s eating at ya?”

“Nothing.” Sole eased into the crook of Hancock’s shoulder.

“Hey—” Hancock raised a hand to gently nudge under Sole’s chin, “—you talk to me if something’s botherin’ you.  We’re in this together.; Let me help.”

The soft rasp in his voice seemed to pull at Sole, and they buckled, bursting into tears, as a concerned Hancock looked on.

“I…when I was in the woods…” Sole sobbed.

Hancock said nothing, just watched them as the place where he used to have a brow, furrowed.

“I was…attacked, and they made me…” Sole’s face contorted with anguish.

“You were hurt pretty bad when we found ya.  Are you…?  What happened?”  Hancock asked more urgently.

“I –“  Sole froze, a gargled choking sound coming from their throat.

“What is it?  Sunshine?”  Hancock sounded worried, bracing his hands on their shoulders.

Sole paled considerably, every muscle in them seemed tense.

“I should go,.”  Sole said hastily, and yet, they found that they couldn’t move an inch.

“Not until you tell me what’s going on,.”  Hancock’s insisted.

“John…”  Sole hesitated, a pained look on their face.

“How bad could it be?” he asked, his eyes crinkling adoringly at the corners.  “You’ve been putting up with this mug for a while now – you think I’d just bail on you?  Especially now that you need me, hmm?”  His arms caged them to him, willing them to let him help.

Sole fell back into him again; like they always would.  It was tough to withstand that sort of adoration after all.

“I was attacked, and it changed me.”  Sole looked to Hancock grimly, gauging his reaction.

“Okay,” he said, waiting.

“I mean…it  _really_  changed me.”  Sole hesitated again as Hancock struggled to decipher the meaning that lurked below the surface of their vague words.

“And tonight, I have to change again.”

“I don’t get it…”

“It’s the full moon, and so I’m…”  The tendons in Sole’s neck jumped out as they strained to speak their truth before they were resigned to growling it.

“I’m going to become…a wolf, sort of.”

“You’re not making any sense…”  Hancock’s grip on Sole loosened.

“Werewolves bit me John, and so tonight, like on every full moon, I’m going to change into a-a-”  Sole swallowed, “—a monster.”

Hancock watched Sole, thoughtful.

“Really?  No kidding?”

“Really.”  Sole’s voice was hoarse now, as they continued to fight off their slip of humanity, as it threatened to evaporate; like the dew of an early morning before the sun rose.

Hancock’s warm hand game to grasp Sole’s squeezing tightly.

“And it’s happening now?”

Sole could only whimper in response, as a violent shudder ripped through them.

Hancock nodded, hurt glimmering in his eyes as he watched Sole’s expression crumple with the wave of pain that washed over them.  He squeezed their hand again.

“Then let’s settle in, it looks like it’s going to be a long night.”

“No!”  Sole cried out in horror., “Don’t…see me like this.  I don’t want you to.”

Hancock sandwiched Sole’s hand in his, raising it to gently press his lips against the joints of their fingers, as they splayed out.

“You’re not going to do this alone.  I’m here, like I always should be.”

A pained sob ripped through Sole. , “John…I could…hurt you…I don’t even know who I am sometimes until after…”

Something strong and primal lurched inside of Sole, as their stomach heaved.  Sole strained against Hancock’s touch as it clung to them relentlessly.

“I’ll go feral someday too.”  Hancock smiled mournfully at Sole, and they had just enough time to return his look, accepting.

“It’s hard to…keep your humanity.  You won’t always be able to help it when it slips through your fingers,” Hancock continued, looking fondly at Sole’s fingers twined through his.  “But that doesn’t…make you a monster.  I have to believe that.”

Sole’s gaze bore into his, as a cold sweat veiled them in a damp sheen.  Sole shook feverishly, gritting their teeth, hanging on Hancock’s every word as it anchored them to the ground; like furniture bolted to the floor in a hurricane.

“It’s giving up on trying to find that humanity again, that condemns you as a monster, I think.  It’s giving up those things that make you human, instead of fighting for them.”  Hancock was pensive, until he felt Sole’s nails stab into the back of his hand.

A garbled moan of pain left them – something not entirely human, and a sickening pop sounded from inside Sole, as they lurched in Hancock’s arms.

“Hey, Sole, you still in there?”

Another animalistic shriek ripped from them, and Hancock’s grip only tightened.

“I know you are, sunshine, you still need to find that son of yours, right?”

Sole moaned; it was a sound so profoundly sad that Hancock was temporarily eased by this small reassurance of their humanity.

“And me, you haven’t forgotten about me already, right?”

Sole convulsed in his arms, and Hancock was mesmerized by the strange way Sole’s skin seemed to split, giving way to newer, wolfish features.

“C’mon sunshine, you know me.”

Sole’s face jerked away from Hancock’s line of sight, just as a menacing snapping sound left them.

“And if you don’t right now, that’s alright,.”  Hancock said quietly, pressing Sole’s violent form further into his own,.  “I’ll remember enough for the both of us.”

**MacCready:** Orange torch light danced, throwing shadows and light in an intricate tango across the buildings in Diamond City.  In the town’s center, the DC Guard handed out guns and bats to a growing line of civilians. MacCready felt stifled by the chatter of the increasingly excited crowd.

“We kill the mangy dog on sight.”  A man announced, his face shrouded by the shadows his full, caged helmet cast on his face.

“A wolf in wolf’s clothing,” someone added scathingly.

Before them all, McDonough stood watching over, a megaphone in hand as he sought to add fuel to flame.

“Find it and kill it.  Do that before it finds and kills  _you_.  Your children, the peaceful life you’ve all built for yourselves here in Diamond City.  Keep the giant, green jewel exactly that – a pure, thing of beauty. Do not let it be tainted by this… _mongrel_ , this foul beast that only seeks to add to the  _vermin_  in the Commonwealth.”

The crowd below him bellowed their approval, raising their weapons; an eager battle cry in the light of the fire McDonough had tended to.  MacCready watched as throngs of armed people marched on out the gates of Diamond City; children waved to their parents, wives kissed their husbands, MacCready looked on, horrified, as images of Sole’s lifeless form dangling from a spit danced across his mind.  Or else, an image of members of the DC Guard posing with them, parading around with their trophy; like they’d mount their head over their fireplace.

He had to find Sole and warn them.

Following the steady flow of the mob as people began marching out of the safe confines of Diamond City, MacCready’s eyes flicked uneasily around searching his surroundings for something familiar; the last time he had seen Sole had been right after their initial transformation.  He had demanded that they come clean about their whereabouts for the months prior in which they had disappeared; to no avail.  All they would tell him is that they had changed; and not necessarily for the better. It wasn’t until Mayor McDonough had started his anti-werewolf propaganda, that MacCready realized what that change must’ve been.  All the signs had added up; disappearance, a sudden need for seclusion, the tattered clothing, and clumps of fur that had littered the small, abandoned Red Rocket truck stop they were holing up in - that’s right, it had been a Red Rocket truck stop!

MacCready glanced around for indications of suspicion; but the people that filtered around him were to busy in their own cliques to notice how he slipped away into a nearby alley, heading east to the nearest truck stop.  He surveyed the dilapidated scene before him; the chipping red paint and rusted utility claws that in their heyday, would swoop down to service cars.  Now the only service it seemed to be providing was temporary safe keeping for Sole.  MacCready hadn’t seen them there yet; but he recognized this one – the same one he had confronted Sole in just a few weeks earlier.

MacCready pushed through the heavy metal door in the front, calling out Sole’s name as a series of scuffling noises trailed closely in its wake, coming from a few rooms in the back.  MacCready unslung his rifle from his back, aiming it readily, his gut twisting at the thought of who he might be using it on.

“Sole?”  MacCready called out.

“Sole, if it’s you, come out, we need to talk.”

More skittering noises, but no one appeared.

“Those Diamond City goons are hunting you down – McDonough’s started this new…anti-wolf campaign, and folks are…well they’re eating it up,” MacCready continued.

Silence.  Then from his peripheral vision, MacCready thought he saw movement flash behind the door.

“Come out!”  he barked, his temper flaring in his agitated state.

MacCready let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding as Sole stepped out from the doorway a few moments later, their arms raised in surrender, eyes to the ground.  MacCready huffed a sigh, before frustratedly slinging his rifle across his back again.

“Why didn’t you just come out when I asked you to the first time?”

“Diamond City’s hunting me?”  Sole asked quietly, their eyes flicking up to meet MacCready’s gaze.

“Yeah – that’s why I decided to come and find you even though last time…”

Sole’s gaze dropped again, “Yeah, thanks, message received.”

“Alright so –“

“You can go.”

Sole disappeared into the room again.  The sight of Sole’s retreating back made MacCready’s temper flare again, tempered by a bitter sadness that pricked at his heart.

“Hey! Wait up – don’t walk away from me!”  MacCready demanded, trailing after.

He watched as Sole shoved what looked like spare clothing into an old duffle bag, along with some cartons of water, and containers of cram.

“So that’s it?  We’re running?  That’s fine – but you need to tell me, so that I know where we’re running to.”

“ _We_  are not.  I am,” Sole risked a glance his way, “and I don’t know.”

“What do you mean  _you’re_  going?  You’re just going to take me warning and disappear?”

“Yeah,” Sole concentratedly kept packing, their voice quiet.

MacCready stepped forward, viciously gesturing his hand at the sight in front of him; “What happened to us being a team?  Before you disappeared, that’s what we were!”

“If I recall correctly, you’re a hired gun.”

MacCready opened his mouth, but no words came out.

“Maybe it started out that way, but you can’t convince me it didn’t –  _we_  didn’t change,” MacCready argued, his voice losing some of its gusto.

“I mean, you helped me with Winlock and Barnes, and then Duncan’s cure…so now it’s my job to help you with…ah…”

Sole spun around, eyes furious, “ _With?”_

MacCready jerked back, the ferocious glimmer in their eyes taking him aback.

“Well?  With what are you going to help me with MacCready?”

MacCready flinched; Sole hadn’t used his last name since their first apprehensive weeks of traveling together.

“I know you saw me transform,” Sole growled, “You know what I am, but you won’t say it.  Why?  Because you’re afraid of me, right?  I’m a monster?”

“Hey, I never said that-“ MacCready  protested.

“You didn’t have to,” Sole spat, “Even if you weren’t repulsed by what I am now, you couldn’t run off with me.  What about Duncan?”

MacCready hesitated.

“You’ve got killer instincts RJ, they’re what got you this far, so I know you know better than to let the big bad wolf into your home.  Into your  _child’s_  home.”

“I know,” MacCready said weakly, “But I…I needed to see you – to warn you…I-“

MacCready struggled with what he was trying to say next, before finally pushing the tumultuous sentiments past his lips, his own eyes shining wetly in the hallowed lantern-lit room.

“And… _good-byes_  are tough.”

Sole’s eyes despaired quietly for a few moments, before suddenly Sole was lurching forward and crushing MacCready against them, lips crashing into one another.  MacCready’s arms grabbed frantically at Sole; his skin starving for the familiar heat of feeling Sole through their clothes, and the battle he fought in trying to get even closer.  Sole kissed back fervently, their taste mingling with something salty.  They kissed past when their lungs demanded air, or when their hearts had reached full – because if they waited for that, they’d be waiting an eternity.  A not-distant-enough gunshot pulled them apart, and as MacCready trained his eyes on Sole’s face, he knew what was coming next.  It had been precisely what he could not bring himself to say – like he said, good-byes were tough.

“Then I’ll make it easy for you; thank you for the warning, and…goodbye RJ.”

Then Sole was slinging the duffle bag over their shoulder and disappearing into the night.  Unshed tears stung MacCready’s eyes, as he tried desperately attempted to prolong the feeling of Sole’s presence in the room.  He could not.

**Nick Valentine** :  Nick sighed, reclining slightly in his chair, thumbing through a manila folder thick with paper.  Sole’s familiar image flashed before his eyes a few times, along with a few other words mingling unfamiliar with the details of his beloved.  Words like ‘wolf’ and ‘transform’, while unsettling descriptions heightened the anxiety that gnawed at his metaphorical gut; ‘protruding ears that twitched vigilantly in response to the tiniest sound’, and the ‘tail that swished menacingly as  _they_  closed in on their prey’.  If Nick could’ve fallen sick, he certainly would have.  His eyes flicked upward to the person seated across the table from him; on the outside, still business as usual.

“Do you know why you’re here today?”

Sole stared blearily back.  “No.”

Nick sighed, setting the file down.  “You’ve been working with me long enough to know that playing dumb doesn’t work.”

“I’m not pretending.”

Nick scrutinized Sole from across the table; they were being uncooperative.  Normally, this is when he’d start his ‘bad cop’ routine.  Nick’s chest tightened.  He scooted his chair back with a hideous screech, and deliberately rose to his feet.

“You would make this so much easier if you just told me the truth,” Nick’s voice lacked its usual confident timbre.

Sole didn’t answer.

“The night of October 1st, you weren’t home,” He knew this detail because he specifically remembered that while he didn’t need to sleep; he spent the entire night tossing and turning instead of trying it with Sole curled at his side.

Nick began pacing, moving so that he was behind Sole.

“Then, October 2nd, three bodies are found; bloody, eviscerated, and missing… _appendages_.”

Nick’s voice was grim.  Sole stared blankly ahead, their mouth pressed into a thin line.

“October 3rd, I find you, huddled in an abandoned bar, smeared in blood, and bare as the day you were born.”

The floorboards creaked under Nick’s steady footfalls.

“And when Dr. Sun performs an autopsy on the bodies, and mouth swabs on you, he finds that there is a match for all three victims’ DNA found in your mouth; between your teeth, along your cheek, and under your tongue.”

Nick turns to bring both hands down harshly onto the metal table.  Sole flinched before reverting to their catatonic state.

“You still want to tell me you don’t know what’s going on?”

“I never said that.”

“Never said what?”

“That I didn’t know what was going on.”

“Okay then,” Nick dialed it back, “what do you think is going on then?”

“I  _know_ , there’s a murder investigation going on.”

The hint of inflection was the closest Nick had gotten to getting a rise out of them.

“And that you’re the prime suspect?”

“I guessed, considering how you’re pulling out all the stops on me.”

“Why would we think it was you?”

“The evidence, obviously; cheek swabs and all that.”

“So, you’re saying the evidence is lying?”

“No.”

“Oh, so we’re lying?”

“No!”

Nick studied Sole; the way their eyes flashed, and they lurched out of their seat, palms pressed firmly against the surface of the table.  Nick’s gaze bore into Sole’s; he found no anger their; just fear.  If Nick had a stomach, it would’ve sunk then and there.

“Then what are you saying?  Explain it to me, so I can understand.”

“I…I’m saying that…the evidence says I did it…but, I can’t remember doing it,” Sole said quietly, hands dropping to their lap, their gaze trailing behind.

“What do you remember doing the night of October 1st?”  Nick had returned to his seat.

“That’s just it…I don’t know.  All three days are a blank to me…I remember kissing you as I left,” Sole’s gaze flicked up at the same time as Nick’s did.

“And then, I remember you finding me, covered in blood.  It was terrifying.”

Sole tugged at their fingertips.

“No recollection of how you ended up that way?”

“No!  I told you – I can’t remember anything!  I can’t –“Sole’s face crumpled, and they brought their hands up so that they could bury their face into it.

Nick fought the physical urge to embrace them.  They might be responsible for the murder of three people after all.

“You can’t remember committing the crime, but you know why.”

It wasn’t a question or an accusation; there was nothing to doubt, Sole knew this too.

“I can never remember my transformations.  It’s like…the wolf side take over, and the me-side is put to sleep.”

“So right now, the wolf -side is asleep?”

“Until the next full moon, yes.”

Sole watched as Nick shook his head.  He tiredly ran a hand down his face, sighing deeply.

“Nick?”

“Why…why didn’t you tell me?”  his voice softened in a way that let Sole know that Detective Valentine had left the room; it was just Nick now.

“I could’ve helped you…we could’ve prevented this…”

Sole gasped, “I told you – it happens, I can’t…control what I-“

“So you should’ve gotten help.”  Nick finished.  “You knew of your limitations, and decided to ignore it, and now three people are dead.  A child is without their parents, and three lives tragically cut short.  Robbed. By you.”

“I couldn’t tell you for this very reason!  You wouldn’t –  _don’t_ understand!”  Hot tears welled in Sole’s eyes, threatening to brim over in their distress.

Nick shook his head, this time with a note of solemn finality.

“Your what, pride?  Shame?  Ignorance? Whatever it was, it’s dangerous.  More dangerous than that wolf lurking inside of you.”  Nick’s brow furrowed, “And that’s why…I have to place you under arrest.”

“Nick!”

“Please, don’t make this tough, just go quietly.”

Tears streamed Sole’s face, “Yeah, that would be easier for you, wouldn’t it,  _Detective Valentine_?”

“Nothing about this is easy for me, damn it.”  Nick retorted hotly.  “But this is my job; and you are a threat to the place I call home, the people I consider family.”

As if on cue, two Diamond City guards entered the stuffy interrogation room, moving to flank Sole; at the ready in case they tried to make a break for it.

“And what does that make me then?”  Sole asked bitterly.

“Guilty.”

The guards grabbed Sole by their arms, hoisting them up, before dragging them haphazardly out into the chilly Diamond City night.  The door clanged shut loudly behind them, and so no one saw the way Nick’s face contorted in grief.

**Longfellow** : The ceiling fan rotated ominously above their shared bed in the wee hours of the night.  Longfellow lay on his back, limbs sprawled, his mouth slightly agape as a soft snore sounded from it.  Sole lay on their side, watching him.  Their eyebrows furrowed and the cold shards of light that clung to Sole’s back seemed to pull at them, like whispers.

Sole’s ears twitched agitatedly, the tip of their tail following in suite.  Longfellow had said he hadn’t minded; he’d even joked about it, saying he’d always been a dog person after all.  Human Sole would’ve been grateful for such levity, found the joke delightful.  Wolf-Sole swallowed a scorching lump in their throat, as a persistent hunger gnawed at their gut.

Each swish of the ceiling fan seemed to bring on a new wave of agonizing torment; the rise and fall of Longfellow’s chest – a testament to his fresh, beating heart.  The way he softly stirred in his sleep enticed Sole to his sleeping form. The warmth that rolled off his body was like being starving and forced to sit obediently before a fresh steak, with delicious wisps of steam rolling off the top.  Sole’s mouth watered, and in their fatigue, their resolve almost crumbled instantaneously.

Sole’s fingers clawed into the sheets, the knuckles whitening with tension.  Something primal scorched in their throat, and Sole swallowed the burn, wincing at the raw sides of the muscle brushed chafingly against each other.  Their chest rose and fall with frantic heaves as Sole struggled under the staggering intensity of their hunger.

Sole lithely rolled onto their stomach and inhaled deeply.  Their mouth watered again.  Sole lifted their arms to creep quietly to Longfellow’s side, the slip of their torso against the sheets trying to appeal to human-Sole, but they were fading quickly.  Sole curled their lip and tasted the air; seldom did wolves manage to find prey at such an opportune time – to catch them sleeping was rare, to keep them that way until the final blow, was rarer.  Most prey lacked the established trust Longfellow and Sole had.

Sole’s eyes swept again once more over Longfellow’s form, before they lunged for his throat.  Longfellow stirred again, and Sole froze, inches away from his jugular.  A sleep chuckle sounded from him, before he cracked an eye open.

“Need a midnight snack?”

Sole could only watch, now a deer stuck in headlights, as opposed to a predator.

Longfellow chuckled again, before rolling onto his side, and throwing an arm over Sole’s waist.  Sole shrunk back into the safety of their humanity, anchored down by Longfellow’s scorching arm around them.  Sole forced their eyes shut, and welcomed stillness, though no sleep came to them.  Another night came to an end.

**Piper:**

Piper’s face crumpled, and she buried her face in her hands.  Nick placed a steaming mug of coffee in front of her.

“Chin up doll, things might not be so bad; just tell me what happened.”

Piper shot a glance behind her, into the nearest corner.  Sole was bound and gagged, laying slumped and unconscious.  Despite the orange-purple hues that had started in the sky, marking the sun’s ascent, Sole’s wolf features hadn’t dissipated yet.

“You can’t tell enough from this?”

“Start from the beginning.”

It had started with a card game; another beautifully mundane evening.  Nat had already gone off to bed, and now Piper and Sole were enjoying a quick round of Rummy before bed.  Piper had noticed Sole’s agitation before she’d noticed the full moon through the window.

“Blue, you okay?”  She had asked, noting the slight tremor in their hands, and the bend of the card underneath the tension that wracked their fingers.

“Y-Yeah, fine,” Sole flashed Piper a smile, but she was still unconvinced.

The game had carried on uneventfully for a few more moments.  Then, Sole had let out a sharp bark, and Piper started.

“Maybe we should head to bed,” Piper suggested.  “I’m sure your…change can be quite exhausting.”

“I’m fine,” Sole muttered, a violent tremor overtaking their hands with a vigor that forced them to drop their cards.

“Blue…”

“I said I’m fine!”  Sole growled; and Piper had no doubt that it would escalate to a snarl at this rate.

“Alright, that’s it.  You should go.”

Sole’s face contorted with agony; due to the change or Piper’s cold suggestion, neither could tell.

“Pipes, wait.”

Piper shook her head, “Listen, this is rough on you Blue, I get it.  Go home, get a good night’s rest, and come by tomorrow.”

“I’m not going anywhere.”  Sole’s voice was low and menacingly; a garbled mix of wolf and Sole.

This was always the most terrifying part of the transformation, in Piper’s opinion.  It was a painful, and arduous process – often leading Sole more prone to lashing out.  The scary part is that the things they said, the things they did – Piper couldn’t tell if it was Sole or the wolf.  Piper noted the stark dilation of Sole’s pupils, before a set of furry ears protruding from atop their head, and a tail unfurled from behind them.

“Blue, I mean it.  Leave.”

“I said no!”  Sole snarled, before a strong hand came and swiped across.

In true Piper fashion, she leapt back right in time, and Sole’s hand swooped through the air.  Both looked onto each other in shock – never before had Sole ever actually swung.  Piper’s first instinct was to scream, but her mind reeled, reminding her of Nat, snug in her bed upstairs.

“You want to send me out into Diamond City like this?”  Sole hissed, “How dare you claim to love me, while pushing me towards the guillotine.”

“I didn’t – “

Sole swiped a strong arm again, and as Piper once again tried to leap away, a claw caught her shoulder.  Piper gasped in pain, as crimson seeped down her arm. A red haze clouded Sole as they blindly kept swiping.  Piper dropped to her knees and ducked beneath Sole. Once safely maneuvered behind them, she jackknifed to her feet, and grabbed a syringe of Med X laying on the counter.

“Sorry Blue,” Piper muttered, turning to face Sole, not feeling  _that_ sorry, in this moment.

She stabbed it into the meat of Sole’s shoulder.  Sole froze for a few moments, before collapsing heavily to the floor in a heap.  Piper surged forward, gathering Sole’s splayed limbs two at a time.  Her eyes darted resourcefully around the room, before she spotted some rope sitting uselessly on an empty bookshelf.

_Perfect!_

Piper retrieved it and using the switchblade she kept holstered at her thigh, she took a few moments to cut it into two equal pieces.  Just enough to bind Sole’s hands and feet.  Piper wrapped the tendrils around Sole’s wrists and ankles respectively, loose enough to not inhibit circulation, but tight enough that no more swipes would be thrown out.  Sole the Wolf’s voice seemed to echo in the back of Piper’s mind.

_You think that’s all it will take?_   It asked scathingly.

Piper knew it would be, but for her own piece of mind, she stuffed an old rag into Sole’s mouth.

Piper admired her handiwork for a few, short minutes, before grabbing her red trench coat, and shoving her arms through the arm holes.  She yanked the door of the  _Publick Occurrences_  open, before she raced over to  _The Valentine Detective Agency_.

“…and that’s when I found you.”  Piper finished.

Nick nodded thoughtfully, before turning to face Sole’s form.

“So now what?”

Piper sighed, “They’ll never forgive me.”

Nick shrugged, “That may be true, but…can you forgive them?”

Piper hesitated, “I’ve dealt with this before.”

Nick frowned, “That’s not what I asked.”

“I know.  It’s complicated though, I love them. You don’t walk out on the people you love.”

“You don’t destroy them either.”

Piper shot another uncertain glance Sole’s way before scooting away from the table.  The chair legs scraped against the worn wood.

“Thanks again Nick, but I think I’m good for now.”

“Piper, wait I…”

Panic, hot and fast rushed into Piper’s gut; she’d had quite enough of this for one night.  Piper went to the door and held it open, gesturing outwards.

“Nicky, I – please just go.”

Nick sighed, but rose to his feet, grabbing his faded hat from atop the table and putting it on.  He paused when he reached the doorway.

“Alright doll, but you let me know if you need anything else.”

“I will, thanks.”

Nick stepped out and turned back just as the door shut. Uncertainty made his coolant run cold.  He’d had a lot of these types of cases; both old Nick and he had. Neither had much of a good track record with them.  He frowned before heading back to the Agency; he was close enough so that Piper couldn’t end up another statistic.  Or at least that’s what he told himself.

**Gage** :  The sun was setting in the sky as raiders from the Operators and the Pack filed quietly into the Nuka World power plant, with Gage, Sole, and Mason taking up the rear.  It was strange, watching the sleek appearance of the Operators marching side by side with the more outlandish one of the Pack members; and Sole would guess it’d be strange to watch them fight side by side too.  Nisha had to be put down after such a grand betrayal though, and it was only with the combined power of the Pack and the Operators, that Sole would be able to achieve such a feat.  Mags and William had already entered along with the last few Operators, while Mason hung back a few feet ahead, waiting for Sole.

Gunfire sounded from inside, punctuated by scathing banter, yelled insults, and pained screams.  Idly, Sole wondered if it was their side or their opponents’. Suddenly, Gage was reaching out a thick arm to block Sole.  Sole stopped and looked at Gage.

“Hey boss, I don’t mean to…overstep or nothin’, but I wanted to know…is there somethin’ yer not tellin’ me?”

Sole’s gaze flicked up to Mason, who was waiting impatiently before the power plant entrance, unslung shotgun waiting in his arms.  This small movement did not go unnoticed by Gage.

“Boss?”

“I uh, we should talk later,” Sole mumbled, unholstering their own weapon.

“But right now, we have to go, Gage.”

Gage frowned but didn’t protest any further.

“Hey, Sole!”  Mason called over, making an exaggerated ‘ _what-the-hell’_  gesture with his hands.

“Coming!”  Sole called back, and bounded towards the entrance, Mason turning to flank them.

Gage’s stomach flipped; since when did Mason start calling them by name?  He himself seldom did that.  Gage unslung his handmade rifle from his back, and trailed after Mason and Sole, watching how they easily maneuvered around each other in the heat of battle.  Sole was skilled with the assortment of knives they kept stashed away at various points on their person; combined with their hand to hand combat skills, Sole was lethal.   Mason stepped in, navigating easily along the fringe of the scuffle Sole was engaged in, picking off the second waves of Disciples as they swooped in.

By the time Gage had caught up to them, the immediate threat was over.

“You okay Boss?”

Sole turned to send him a quick smile, “Yeah, I’m okay Gage.”

“You’re bleeding.”  Mason’s eyebrows furrowed, as he raised his hand to angle Sole’s head to the side, revealing a deep cut along their cheekbone.

“It’s just a scratch,” Sole said dismissively.

“You should be more careful.”

A flash of white-hot anger surged through Gage; who was Mason to tell Sole something like that?  The way he looked at them was…more intimate than Gage preferred. He studied Sole’s response to Mason’s fussing; no blushing or stammering, no smiling – rather, they looked perturbed.  Their brow furrowed, and a slight frown playing across their lips.

“I’m aware, Mason.  Thank you.”

Mason nodded, before turning and continuing on ahead, to where more gunfire and yelling sounded from.

Gage caught Sole by the sleeve of their shirt.

“It’s Mason, huh?  That’s what’s going on?”

Sole’s eyebrows flew up.

“What?”

“You an’ him, yer…what, shackin’ up together or somethin’?”

Sole’s brow knit together, “No, that’s not it at all.  You don’t know what you’re…”

Hurt flitted across Sole’s face.

“Gage, I told you, we’ll talk later.”

Sole turned to dive into the firefight themselves, leaving a disgruntled Gage seething with envy a few feet behind.

“But you already told Mason, huh?”  he muttered, before following.

Sole’s and Mason’s intricate dance turned into that of three, with Gage joining to pick off the few Disciples who had favored guns, knowing well that Sole had a preference and aptitude for a fight with a more personal touch.  Like a well-oiled machine, the three of them navigated the Nuka-World power plant, clearing floor after floor of Disciples, until finally they had reached the roof of the power plant, where Nisha and her final band of Disciple goons awaited them.

Sole, Gage, and Mason stood guardedly as several Disciples rushed towards them; they would be simple enough.  It was Dixie that they’d have to look out for.  As more Disciples poured towards them, from behind Nisha, Sole could spot a blur of movement from their peripheral vision;  _Dixie!_   Sole spun swiftly on their heel, only for each glinting blade in their hand to be met with sudden resistance.  Sole found themselves nose to nose with Dixie, each of their knives tightly catching the other; a brief deadlock.

Sole glanced behind them; William and Mags were pushing forward to Nisha’s position, Mason and Gage were preoccupied with a herd of Disciples, back to back, picking them off as fast as they could.  Sole wouldn’t have backup for this battle.  Dixie used this moment of distraction to shove herself away from Sole, before twisting suddenly, and lunging again.  Sole had half a second to contort their own body, blocking another one of Dixie’s deadly attacks.  Sole gritted their teeth; they were falling behind in pace already.  By the time Sole had steadied themselves in their response, Dixie was shifting again. Lag had positive feedback in knife fights; that was one of the first things Sole had learned in the time they had spent fighting.  They would only get slower and slower, and Dixie was just getting started.  When Dixie lunged forward another time, Sole was a split second too late.  They howled in pain as something sharp stabbed into their gut.

Sole could’ve sworn they could detect a twisted smile beneath that dreadful mask.

“ _Good night, sweet Overboss_ ,” she hissed.

Sole felt their knees weaken, as they crumpled to the ground in a heap.  The violent rising and falling of their chest was haphazard and uneven, as they labored over the menial task of drawing air into their lungs.  There was a leak in the system somewhere; human Sole wasn’t going to last much longer.

“Boss!”  Gage landed a vicious hit to the head of a Disciple with the butt of his gun, before rushing towards Sole, a dark puddle of red spreading out beneath them, and seeping through the porous metal platform.

“No, Gage!”  Mason dove forward to grab Gage, stopping him just short of reaching Sole’s form.

Dixie towered over them, landing a kick to them that sent a frantic jolt of pain reverberating through them.  Sole groaned painfully, lacking the energy to react much more than that.

“Get the hell off of me!”  Gage growled, shoving roughly against Mason in an attempt to break free of his iron grip.

Something strangely triumphant gleamed in Mason’s eyes, “No.  Watch them.”

Sole twitched and jerked as Dixie circled them.  Gage watched, as terror, fresh and cold, like ice water ran through him.  Then Sole shuddered, and a sickening crack sounded from their battered form.  Gage watched as Dixie turned abruptly to face Sole, the quick movement demonstrating the unexpectedness of the sound.

Sole moved – or rather, Sole’s form moved them, their body jerking like a ragdoll, as strange forces Gage couldn’t discern grinded their bones, and stretched their skin, paving the way for the wolfish enhancements that were about to come forth.

Mason’s grip on Gage loosened, and Gage turned to watch the Pack Alpha.  His face was impassive, accepting – understanding even as he watched Sole change before his very eyes.

“You know what this is.”

It wasn’t a question.

Mason looked bleakly at Gage, “They told me the night it happened – they had no idea what else to do.”

Mason watched as suppressed hurt eked across Gage’s face.

“They wanted to tell you – but they were scared.  Telling me for them was…a safety net. Someone knew, but not someone they cared about enough to…be risky.”

A shrill scream sounded from the direction of Sole and Dixie, and it took Gage and Mason a few moments to match the horrific sound to Dixie, who watched as furry ears sprung from Sole’s head, and a large, wolfish tail unfurled from behind them.  Sole was on all fours now, their human hands clenching at the platform floor in a very non-human way.  They kept their form hovering low, stalking in a predatory way, as their eyes looked past Dixie of the Disciples, and scrutinized Dixie, their prey.

A beat of silence fell noticeable upon the strange scene, before a snarl tore from Sole’s throat, and they launched themselves at Dixie.  In her shock, she could only let herself become pinned as Sole lunged for her jugular. Mason and Gage watched as bright red seeped out from under Dixie’s mask, and onto Sole, the Disciple’s frantic movements growing slower and slower, before finally coming to a stop.

Mags and William Black came to join Gage and Mason, the four of them watching as Sole growled and snapped at Dixie’s form.

“It’s too bad Nisha isn’t around anymore to see this,” Mags remarked.

“I don’t think I even want to see this,” William grumbled disgustedly.

Mason shrugged, “I think it’s just another…tool our Overboss has at their disposal.  It makes them stronger.  Better.”

“Of course,  _you_  think that.”  Mags scoffed.

“And what the hell is that supposed to mean?”  Mason turned sharply to Mags.

“I just mean, you and that  _zoo_  you’re running over in – “

“Hey Boss,” Gage started forward.

Silence overtook the remaining gang leaders, as they watched Gage engage with Sole, with bated breath.  Sole’s face was still buried thoroughly in Dixie’s corpse.

“Boss,” Gage called again, more firmly this time.

Sole’s ears pricked, and they pulled away, looking up at Gage.  No recognition in those wild eyes of theirs.

“Boss, it’s me – we won.  You can…change back now.”

Sole was frozen, a low growl rumbling in their throat.  Gage raised his hands in surrender.

“C’mon,” Gage noted the smear of red along their mouth, he tried not to think about what it was.  “we can get you some real food back at home, after we clean you up.”

The growl rumbled more loudly.

“It’s alright,” Gage fought to keep his voice steady.

“They can’t just change back,” Mason said, “It’s…the way the Overboss explained it to me, the transformation triggers when there’s a full moon, or the body thinks it’s in danger.  I’m guessing those wounds are what triggered this one.”

“So when will they change back?”

“My guess is when they’re healed.”

Gage nodded thoughtfully, “So, we Stimpak them?”

“Yeah, good luck with that,” Mags called out.

Mason stepped forwards, “That’d be a good start.”

The Pack Alpha rummaged in the small leather bag he had hanging from his hip, pulling out a Stimpak.  Gage carefully shifted under Sole’s vigilant gaze, before suddenly rushing forwards to place all his weight on their side, and setting a heavy arm on their neck, effectively pinning them.

“Do it quick Mason.”  Gage mumbled.

Mason stooped down and injected the needle into their shoulder.  Sole bucked beneath them a few times, before slowing, and going limp.

“Now what?”

“Now, we wait.”

Mason and Gage sat there, watching as clumps of fur began to shed from Sole, watching as the ears and tail seemed to almost disappear into thin air.  Gage couldn’t help but smooth a hand along the length of Sole’s arm.  Mason watched the movement carefully.

“What did you think Sole and I were hiding from you, earlier?”

“It’s nothin’,” Gage answered gruffly.

Mason continued to watch them, as Sole began to stir.  He watched the tension leave Gage’s body, and relief flood his eyes.  Mason raised an eyebrow, his instincts telling him it wasn’t ‘nothing’ at all.

**Preston** :  Every light in the house was turned on, bringing back memories of Sole’s childhood, when their parents would leave them home alone, and they’d run and turn on every light in the house, even the closet ones, to keep the monsters at bay.  Ironically enough, tonight was also an attempt to keep a monster at bay, the only difference was that this time, the monster was already inside the house. Sole sat in the only wooden chair they owned; the nicest and most importantly the sturdiest chair they owned.  The chains that dangled from their restraints jangled slightly, as Sole looked around; first out the window to take stock of the full moon that shone down on the Commonwealth that night.  Then, to Preston, who sat reclined slightly in a chair a few feet in front of them.  His laser musket sat propped against the chair side – per Sole’s request.

“Nervous?”

Sole swallowed before smiling sheepishly.

“Is it that obvious?”

Preston chuckled, “You’re looking around all paranoid.”

Sole smiled weakly, “I’m just really hoping this works.”

“It will.  Then we can put this nonsense behind us, once and for all.”

Silence hung over them for a few moments.

“How do you know if…it’s happening?”

“You’ll be able to see it – and hear it probably; it’s really painful.  You’ll hear my bones…shifting around probably.  And you’ll be able to see the ears and tail appear.”

More quiet.

“Are you scared?”

“If I wasn’t, I’d say we wouldn’t even need to do the test in the first place – just put me down right now.”

Preston frowned at the sentiment.  Sole noticed the look and rushed to explain.

“I’m not…conscious of what I’m doing when I’m…changed.  That paired with the extra speed, strength, and heightened instincts makes me a risk.  If I fail to see it as such, well then…all the worse.”

“But if you know, then maybe we try and fix it.  Or use it to our advantage?  It’s okay to have formidable power so long as – “

“Don’t you see Preston?”  Sole asked exasperatedly, “There is no ‘using this for good’, because the only thing I ‘use’ it for is to kill.  Doesn’t matter who, doesn’t matter where, it’s just, what I do.”

Preston’s gaze shifted uneasily to the floor.

“So, if these constraints don’t hold…”

“Then you shoot without hesitation,” Sole directed, “and you shoot to kill.”

Silence set in again, and Preston wracked his brain for anything else; eager to steer the conversation to more…hopeful frontiers.  Sole had saved him and the others in Concord, they reunited the Minutemen, and had scoured the Commonwealth to find their son – that Sole, was here.  Preston just had to make sure they won.  He needed Sole – they had nurtured his hope, when Quincy had nearly vanquished it.  He knew it sounded cliché, but Sole had saved him.  It was his turn to tell them that – to hopefully do the same.  He would have to, the second this ordeal was over.

“Hey, what do you say, when this is all over, you and I go and get dinner?  Somewhere we can talk, maybe, I have…some things I’d like to discuss with you,” Preston felt himself flush, and he preoccupied himself with studying the barrel of his gun, trying to appear as if he found meaning in it, “they’re of a rather personal nature.”

A choked sound came from where Sole was sitting, and Preston’s head snapped up.

“Sole?”

Sole was seizing against the restraints, and shuddering.  Thick, foamy saliva bubbled at their lips.  Preston’s gut twisted, and he rose to his feet, gun in one hand.  He raised the unoccupied hand slowly towards Sole.

“Are you alright?”

Sole only continued writhing and contorting as much as the restraints would allow them to.  A sickening crack sounded from them, and Preston winced, thinking about their bones, grinding against each other, shifting agonizingly, with little bits of bone dust floating down.  He thought of the time he’d broken two of his fingers, and he thought about how much it had hurt then.  He tried to imagine that sort of pain in his spine, and his stomach churned.  Tiny, laboring panting noises left Sole’s lips in a sequence of sharp gasps.  The seizing slowed, and then Sole went limp.  It was only now, in this eerie calm that Preston allowed himself to notice the ears and tail that had made an appearance during the turbulent change.

“Sole?”  Preston asked cautiously.

There was no response.

“Sole…?”  Preston tried again, trying to fight off the wobble in his voice.

One eye cracked open.  Then the next.  They blinked before a snarl ripped from Sole’s throat, and they strained against the restraints once again.

“Sole…”  Preston’s hands grew clammy as the grip on his gun tightened.

Sole snapped and growled.  Preston noticed the thick leather straps begin to wear away.  The chains jangled excitedly.  Sole jerked and shifted violently, the chair rocked beneath them, the wood creaking against the force of Sole’s movements.  One leg kicked free, and then the other.  Ripped duct tape splintered outwardly towards Preston, pointing at him to run in the opposite direction.

Sole lurched more aggressively, encouraged by the freedom in their legs now.  The wooden arm of the chair began to splinter under the force, and Preston swallowed painfully.

With an ominous crack, Sole lifted an arm free, the arm of the chair still splinted against their forearm.  Sole yanked on their last one.  The wood of the chair splintered at an accelerated rate. Shakily, Preston raised his gun, and aimed at Sole apprehensively.  The barrel of his gun shook viciously. A finger came to hover tightly over the trigger.  Preston swallowed as with another tense snap, Sole yanked their other arm free.  They lunged right as a shot rang out.

**Strong** :  Nobody knew if super mutants dreamt, let alone slept.  Despite their frequent appearances in the Commonwealth, they were still a bit of an unknown quantity – a rather  _large,_  unknown quantity.  This night though, Strong slept – probably the most soundly he had since being infected with FEV.

In this dream, he’d changed.  Or rather, he hadn’t yet been changed – in this dream he had soft, skin, and long tendrils of hair.  He had a name, in this dream, he was puny.  If one wasn’t Strong, they would think that perhaps this was a memory, rather than a dream.  Or a dream borne of a primitive memory, in Strong’s mind. Strong was oblivious to these potential implications, but for reasons he could not discern, his chest tightened at this strange dream, with this stranger who claimed to be him.  It made him angry.  Strong awoke – although not because of these strange premonitions, and not due to the uncomfortable squeezing.

Something outside the foggy borders of dreamland startled him awake; and not much startled Strong.  A sharp, unfamiliar sound pierced through his veil of unconsciousness.

Strong jerked awake, “Bwah!”

Anger seared him from the inside right away.  What a nuisance – whatever it was that woke him.

He looked around, only to find his puny, human companion folded haphazardly up in the corner.  They looked like they were in pain.

“Human, what are you doing.  You wake Strong.”  He bellowed.

Sole moaned painfully, and despite Strong’s mediocre observation skills, he was able to note their shivering.

“Human is cold?  Human is sick?  Strong must find milk of human kindness, human must help Strong find milk of human kindness!”

Sole groaned, and Strong couldn’t help but marvel at the almost primal rumble as the sound left Sole’s lips.

Strong chuckled, “Human, this is an improvement.  Humans make too much noise – talk, talk, talk.  This better.”

A whine sounded from the back of Sole’s throat, and a flash of irritation wracked Strong.  He watched Sole shift uncomfortable, and noticed the two strange, furry ears that protruded from atop their head.  He watched the tail that unfurled behind them swish agitatedly back and forth.

“Human changed! Human looks…not so human now!”

Sole gave a final shudder before clambering onto all fours, eyes paranoidly shifting back and forth around the room, watching for intruders that weren’t there.  Strong watched the tight flexing of their muscles beneath skin stretched so tautly, it turned white.  Their fingers were tensed into claws, as an unrelenting growl rumbled from their throat.

Strong laughed approvingly, “Human still puny, but maybe not so human?  They strong! Now we find milk of human kindness faster!”

Strong banged an enthusiastic hand against the wall; it cracked from the force, sending a cloud of dust and drywall crumbling to the floor.  The sound startled this strange new Sole, and they snarled before crouching low – ready for anything; threat or prey.  Strong’s own deep voice rumbled the same, Sole’s own change driving the dream of Strong’s swiftly from his mind.

**X6-88:** Sole sipped their coffee, finding comfort that had become scarce in the recent weeks, in the warmth that radiated through the ceramic mug.  Dark circles gathered beneath their eyes, and their face was haggard; they hadn’t been sleeping much.  X6 strolled into the kitchen and took his usual seat across from then, skipping the coffee, as per usual.

“You look tired,” X6 remarked.

Sole didn’t look up, “Gee, thanks.”

Even through the opaque lenses of his shades, Sole could feel the intensity of his gaze on them; they squirmed uneasily.

“You’ve been out late almost every night lately,” X6 continued.

“It just seems that way, I’ll bet,” Sole tried to sound nonchalant, “you probably just miss me.”

X6 didn’t skip a beat.

“I do, that’s why I started counting; you’ve been out for seventy-three nights out of the past ninety.”

“Your math must be off.”

“That’s highly unlikely.”

Dammit.  He was right – X6’s logic with most things, was flawless, but especially with math.  Sole had teased him about his ‘parlor trick’ when they’d had the energy.  Sole’s eyes were fixed on the surface of the table as they continued to sip their coffee in silence.  Sole’s train of thought traced at the scratches and dings of the fiberglass.  Suddenly, plush leather was brushing against their knuckles, unfurled loosely from their restful position.

“Sole,” X6 murmured, “if something is bothering you, I’d…like to help.  I can help.”

Sole chest tightened; X6 seldom used such tenderness in his voice, even since they’d entered a romantic relationship.

“You can’t, X6.”  Sole’s voice wobbled as tears welled in their eyes.

Sole blinked as a tear slipped out, plopping onto the table.  They kept their head bowed, evading X6’s gaze as he struggled to decipher what was going on.

“You know, there’ve been reports of strange…people around the Commonwealth.”  X6 said abruptly.

X6’s gentle grip seemed to singe through his leather gloves, to burn Sole.  They continued to squirm in their seat.

“Oh, really?”  Sole’s voice was tight.

“Yes, people who take on the characteristics of dogs, or rather, wild dogs.  Wolves.”

Sole swallowed, “That sounds like a crazy rumor.”

“Hm.”

Sole tried to pull their hand away, but X6’s light touch seemed to tighten, viselike, pinning their hand in place.

“Sole,”

Sole cringed at the subtle demand.

“Sole,” X6 plead quietly.

The blood roared in their ears, and then Sole was looking up to meet X6’s gaze, their own hot with emotion.

“If you’re insinuating something, just say it.  Neither of us like games.”  Sole hissed, jerking their hand from X6.

His face was unreadable, “It’s you, isn’t it?  You’re a …wolf, sometimes.”

Sole’s jaw was taut.

X6 could only take their silence as confirmation.

“Why did you keep it from me?”  His voice was steady.

“How could I?”  Sole’s voice wobbled, “You think the people of the Commonwealth are animals anyways.”

Sole laughed harshly, “What?  Should I have expected you to think differently of me?”

“Yes,” X6’s eyebrows furrowed; the only emotion his face was letting on.

“Oh?  And why is that?”

“Because you and I…we’ve entered an intimate relationship.  By entering in such a relationship, I’ve agreed to help you and love you.”

Sole’s heart twinged, even if he sounded like he was reciting from a textbook.  Tentatively, X6 reached forward again to envelop Sole’s hand in his own.

“I-“

X6’s hand rose to tenderly cup the side of Sole’s face, his thumb reaching to gently dab at the dark circles beneath their eyes.

“Let me help,” he said again, his voice rasping slightly; the most distraught Sole had ever heard him.

Sole closed their eyes and reached up to cover his hand with their own.

“Okay.”


End file.
